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Professional Development and PersonalEvolution: Creativity as a Tool
Miguel Alfonso Garcia
SUMMA 112 Training Department(Servicio Urgencia y Emergencias Medicas De Madrid)Emergencies and Medical Urgencies Service of MadridC/Antracita 2 Bis. CP 2804 Madrid Spain.
Abstract.
Creativity is a quality we all have; we continually use it without often realising it. Weonly need to be conscious of it and try to enhance its development and growth. Here I offer someideas that I hope will be useful to whoever is interested.
ARE WE CREATIVE?
I would like to begin by making a clarification and by posing a question to thosepresent. I am not here as an economist which is my academic training or as anemergency technician which is my present profession. I am not well recognised or acreative example of a company famous for its advertising success, I only collaborateas a volunteer in risk prevention drug dependency programs for adolescents.I would like to take this opportunity to point out the curious irony of this situation.The ideas that I contribute for the prevention of drug dependency in adolescents arenot by any means economically rewarded, but, if I had a great idea that would urgeadolescents to smoke more or drink certain marketed products, I would surely earn alarge sum for it. A strange fact...And this is the most validity I can offer to those in attendance—my absence offame and recognition on topics of creativity—since my goal today is not to furtherstimulate the social fever of our times, or the search for models of fame and success,above all economic success, to follow and imitate. My goal is to pass along my deepconviction that all of
us
are creative from the moment we are born. The problem lies inrealising this reality, and above all in beginning to be conscious of it so that we mayeffectively use it in our lives, since social or economic recognition is not necessary tobring about this intrinsically human quality.My question to those present is: How many of you consider yourselves to becreative? Only two people raise their hands...fine, then the necessity of my speech isjustified and, I hope at the end a larger number of the audience is able to raise theirhand, hopefully all those present.First I would like to remind everyone of the meaning of the word "create", from theLatin word "creare", it is to produce something from nothing, in a figurative sense.On the other hand, creativity could be the ability to create, the capacity for creation.
CP905,
Frontiers
of
 Fundamental Physics
(FFP8),
Eighth International Symposium
edited by
B.
G. Sidharth, A. Alfonso-Faus, and M. J. Fullana© 2007 American Institute of
Physics
978-0-7354-0412-0/07/S23.00
205
 
Creativity is usually related with art, science or its discoveries, and with advertisingand its economic interests in large advertising campaigns.But creativity exists in all fields of human life. Let us look at some examples. Ourown perception of ourselves, our image, is a creative act in
itself.
I believe that myimage, the image I want to offer to others and the distinct roles we play in our life arecontinuous acts of creativity. Today I am not a father but when my child is born a newrole will be created in my life, and with it I will create and configure my personalityand image. Every time there is a loss in my life, every time a role disappears, I have torecreate myself and redefine my personality and who I am in an act of continualcreation.Let's look at some simple guidelines that can help us discover and benefit from thecreativity that exists in all of us:-View problems as opportunities: Opportunities for what? -Opportunities forpersonal growth, for developing abilities and qualities that we already have in ourlatent state but that we still don't know about ourselves. Problems help us to developthis "something more", that in a different situation we would never have had to bringout from our conscience. We must come to terms with the word "problem".-Select a focused perspective: The angle from which we look at problems orsituations is important and, above all, it is important to know how to vary this angle.That change in perspective is in itself a creative act, to be able to generate new pointsof view and focus points about the same problem, instead of stagnating in only one.There is always a different way of contemplating the same situation or problem. Itprovides us with different information and points encounters that create new scenariosso that creative solutions can appear.- Develop techniques: this is essential regardless of how skilled or able we are in aninnate function or activity; it is fundamental not only to trust in the qualities or talentswe posses, but we should also train and develop our techniques for maximumoptimization and expression of our original potential in whatever activity we arecarrying out. We must polish the tools we posses so that our talents can be manifestedto their fullness.- Lose the fear of making mistakes and breaking the mould: errors are always aguarantee of learning. Recognized and incorporated mistakes provide us with anexcellent experience for learning and advancing our path. The fear of mistakes, beinginterpreted as failures, block us and hold us back when we have to make and act onnew and creative decisions. Breaking moulds, creating new paths, acting bravely andalone in our first steps on unknown ground.. .it is much easier to walk on paths alreadytaken than to go off the path having to support loneliness, doubt and critique from therest of the group, as well as confront our own doubts about whether or not that roadwill bring us good fortune. Creativity requires moments of walking alone on our ownpath in life.206
 
Thomas Edison conducted 2,000 experiments before inventing the light bulb. Ayoung reporter asked him about why there were so many failures. Edisonresponded: "I didn't fail once. I invented the light bulb. It just happened to be aprocess with 2,000 steps."
-Search for more than one answer, choose yours and pay the price; in whateversituation more than one answer can always be found. We should not be content withonly one, once we discover the options we choose ours and we pay the price of ourchoice. There is always a price to pay: the opportunity cost of the one option to leavethe others behind.-Convert the winning or losing scenarios into winning or learning; our leisureeducation is centred in competition. Albert Einstein said on a particular occasion: "Thegreatest pain caused by the capitalist system is the undermining of the being human.This dishonour is detrimental to the entire educational system because it teaches thestudent to compete excessively and instructs him to worship economic success astraining for a future professional life".Loss and failure are two paths directed towards a sure education and evolution; it isnot about searching for them but taking advantage of them when they appear.Whatever loss produced in our life is an opportunity for creativity since, when we losesomething or someone important in our life our identity is changed, our relationshipwith the subject of loss disappears, our expectation vanishes creating a vacancy. Itobligates us to once again redefine our image, the meaning and direction of our life,and to create a new "I" without that person or situation, therefore, filling that vacancyis also an act of creativity -To create a new meaning for my existence in a differentcontext.To a degree, I accept losses and the rediscovery of who I am after these lossesappear. I submerge myself in a more profound, self-conscious process, each timecreating or discovering a concept of myself more intimate and authentic, independentof external factors, roles and etiquettes, that before were considered an integrate andessential part of my identity.-Search for the most potential place; every human should do it, as there is always aplace with the most potential for developing our creativity to the maximum. This placeappears in many forms or can even be a difficult or adverse situation. It is good to beconscious when we are in it, but what really counts is simply being there. Onoccasions it is the place that finds us. A well-known Nobel award winner fractured hisleg skiing and during his hospital stay discovered a good part of the work for whichmuch later he would win the award. He could have used the time to complain andcurse his bad luck; instead, he converted it into a highly potential situation. Sometimesa catastrophe is a highly potential place to bring many hidden qualities of being humanto the surface. When what is already known no longer serves us, when what is alreadyestablished collapses, when a relationship no longer functions, a crisis arises and thecrisis is the precursor of creativity or something new arising.
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